Move over, OpenAI-Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR  ) is taking center stage in the corporate artificial intelligence race, according to Gil Luria, head of technology research at D.A. Davidson. The analyst upgraded Palantir from neutral to buy, declaring it may be the "best company" in the software world.

Luria noted that while pure-play AI giants dominate headlines, Palantir commands true "main character" energy by delivering tangible business results where others stumble.

Growth at 'Twice the Rate'

D.A. Davidson raised its price target for Palantir to $175, 32% higher than the current level, citing soaring profits and an attractive valuation after the stock dipped roughly a third from its highs.

While trading at 50 times cash flow still appears steep, Luria emphasized that it aligns with peers like Snowflake Inc. (SNOW  ) and Datadog Inc. (DDOG  ), except Palantir is growing at "twice the rate."

According to Luria, CEO Alex Karp's projection of a 50% to 70% recurring growth rate over the next three years is entirely achievable due to overwhelming inbound customer demand. "Winning begets winning," Luria stated, highlighting that the company does not even require an aggressive outbound sales motion.

Surviving the Model Collapse

A key differentiator for Palantir is its infrastructure-agnostic approach. While companies building directly on specific large language models risk disruption if a provider pulls a model from the market, Palantir enables enterprises to seamlessly swap underlying AI models.

"You need somebody exactly like Palantir that goes into a company and builds a solution that can work on top of any model," Luria explained.

The Secret Weapon

Palantir's unique advantage lies in its operational deployment. Unlike traditional packaged software providers, Palantir relies on forward-deployed engineers who actively implement tailored solutions.

This hands-on capability allows customers to use AI immediately to "deliver results."

While upcoming IPOs from rivals might create temporary market noise, Luria believes it will ultimately benefit Palantir by funneling more resources toward deploying its indispensable enterprise solutions.

How Has PLTR Performed In 2026?

Palantir shares have declined 25.43% year-to-date, 2.21% over the last month, and 1.35% over the year. It closed 2.51% higher at $132.54 apiece on Monday, and it was up 0.51% in overnight trading.

Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings indicate that PLTR maintains a weak price trend in the long, short, and medium terms, with a good growth score.